


The Golden Years

by DaftPunk_DeLorean



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Growing Up, Kid Fic, Kid Tony Stark, people giving Tony the love and support he deserves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-17
Updated: 2017-11-17
Packaged: 2019-02-03 16:48:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12752253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaftPunk_DeLorean/pseuds/DaftPunk_DeLorean
Summary: Young Tony never knew his grandparents, and when he learns what grandparents are, he thinks they sound wonderful. He decides that he'll just have to pick out some grandparents of his very own, with a little help from Aunt Peggy.





	The Golden Years

**Author's Note:**

> This story starts in 1976, when Tony was six years old. Timeline at end of fic.

“Mama, what’s a grandma and grandpa?” little Tony asked, his eyes wide and eager in his young face, at the prospect of learning something new. His mama turned around on her velvet dressing table chair to look at Tony, her smile kind of sad, like it was when papa drank the brown drink from the fancy bottle. 

“Oh honey, come here,” she said, and Tony eagerly crawled off the bed and into her lap, petting the silky satin of her slip, scratching his fingernails on the red velvet of the bench (his favorite color) to leave little stripes. His mama hugged him tightly.

“Grandma and grandpa are called grandparents. They are your mama and papa’s parents, and your grandparents,” she said, letting Tony play with her strand of pearls, but catching his little hand when he went to pull at a perfectly-formed curl of her blonde hair. “Careful, little one. Mama has to go out with papa tonight and needs to look pretty.”

“Mama, you’re always pretty,” Tony laughed, tucking his head under his mama’s chin and looking at their reflection in the mirror. He loved his mama so much. She was gentle and smiled for him and let him touch her and hugged him and said he was good and smart and would grow up to be such a good man. Tony believed her. She was his mama. If she said it, it must be true. 

“Where are my grandparents?” he asked, holding his hand up to his mama’s. His fingers were only just starting to be bigger than her palm. He looked at their reflection and her smile was sad again. “Mama, you’re sad,” he said, his smile dropping. Then she smiled again, kissing his face all over until Tony giggled himself dizzy.

“I’m not sad, honey, I just wish you had grandparents. They would love you so much. Your grandparents weren’t alive when you were born,” she said. 

“Oh,” Tony said. He knew what that meant, understood what “dead” meant. His papa talked about it a lot, about his friend Steve, whether he was dead or not. He looked up when his mama kept talking.

“They would love you so much, darling. They would come visit you and bring you presents and take you on trips, and you could visit them and they’d read you stories and play with you, and your grandpa would show you how to build a fishing reel and take you fishing. Your grandma would play piano with you and sing. It would be like having a whole family of Jarvises who all loved you just as much as I do,” she said, her voice faraway as she murmured into Tony’s mess of dark hair. 

That sounded wonderful. Tony loved Jarvis. He knew he was supposed to love his papa more, but he secretly didn’t. And a whole family of Jarvises to love him?

“I want grandparents,” Tony declared with finality, as if the matter was settled. Maybe Jarvis or his mama could get him some. But his mama’s smile turned sad again.

“I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way, darling. You don’t have grandparents. But you have your mama and papa and Jarvis, and we’ll all take good care of you.”

Tony frowned a moment as his mama brushed her fingers through his hair. He wanted grandparents. He knew how to make a motor, maybe… maybe he could make something pretty, a present that would make a grandma and grandpa want him and love him? Then Tony’s eyes lit up. 

His Aunt Peggy sometimes took him to a home where some of her friends lived, to visit and have lunch. Her mama lived there, and there were lots of people with white hair and smile wrinkles and candies in their pockets who were all happy to see him.

Tony grinned at his mama, who kissed his forehead. He was going to go to the home and pick out a set of grandparents of his very own.

______________________________

“Aunt Peggy, will you take me to visit your mama sometime?” Tony said into the phone, holding the receiver with both hands, peeking into the kitchen to make sure Jarvis was still stirring his tea and didn’t see the cord stretched around the corner. He didn’t think he was doing wrong, but he thought maybe he should keep it secret until he had new grandparents to bring home to meet his mama.

“Of course, little darling. Shall we go tomorrow? I’ll take you to the park afterward for ice cream, too,” she said, and Tony laughed.

“I love you, Aunt Peggy,” he said by way of enthusiastic agreement, and then babbled at length about his newest project he was working on, something with fancy wires and lights like his papa builds. “Maybe he’ll like it, maybe he’ll be proud of me,” Tony said with breathless excitement, and there was a long pause on the line.

“I’m sure he will be quite proud of you, darling. You are very smart. I hope you will show me your project,” Aunt Peggy said softly.

“I have lots of projects! Will you stay for dinner? I’ll show you them all!”

“We’ll see. Tomorrow then?” 

“Tomorrow!” Tony said, and hung up, running to his room. He had to get things ready; a nice outfit to impress his new grandparents, and a pleasing arrangement of his little projects and machines to impress his Aunt Peggy.

______________________________

Aunt Peggy gave him a big hug the following day and told him what a handsome young man he was in his bowtie and jacket, but then Tony sat on the foyer floor in boredom while his papa and Aunt Peggy talked about boring things in tense voices. But Tony straightened and cast his eyes down when he heard his name.

“You’ll make him soft, fussing over him like Maria does. Stark men are made of iron, not ice cream and lipstick kisses,” his papa said in an impatient voice, and Tony’s heart sank. What if he wasn’t allowed out?

“Howard, however much you think of him as your little automaton, he’s still just a child. He needs to _play._ You’re lucky I’m here to make sure you don’t turn into a robot yourself,” she said just as impatiently, then held out a hand to Tony, who stood and took it immediately, hiding a little behind her skirt, just in case his papa reached for him. “We’ll be back for dinner.”

Papa made another impatient noise and threw his hands in the air, but left them alone. Tony immediately beamed up at Aunt Peggy, feeling free and happy again. She ruffled his hair.

“Ready to go, young man?” she said with an affectionate smile, and Tony nodded enthusiastically. He talked and talked and talked about all the wonderful things he learned how to build, and how papa talked about sending him to a special school in another state. Aunt Peggy didn’t look very pleased at that, but she gave him a piece of gum as a treat and asked him about what he wanted be when he grew up. Tony spread his arms wide. Aunt Peggy asked him every time what he wanted to be, and his answer was always different. 

“I want to be an astronaut! Or… I want to be a knight and fight dragons and monsters!” he said, but he couldn’t decide. “I want to be like papa,” he finally said. “He’s smart. I want to be smart.” Aunt Peggy brushed her thumb across his cheek. 

“Oh honey, you already are,” she murmured. That made Tony very happy, and he was all smiles when they got to the home and visited with Aunt Peggy’s mama, who praised him for how handsome he looked and how charming he was. He accepted a piece of pie and listened to them talk about interesting things like airplanes and vacations to the beach.

“Aunt Peggy, can I go look at the flowers?” he finally asked about the courtyard where some of the people sat in the sun with blankets over their laps. When given permission, he walked the sunny halls slowly toward the courtyard, looking carefully at each person he saw. Some looked friendly, some had white hair, and some wore a frown or an empty look. 

He sat alone on a bench in the courtyard, his feet swinging, and watched many people, his attention finally catching on an old couple playing checkers at a sunny table. The woman clapped her hands in the air and laughed when she won, and so did the man, even though he lost. She wore a big, flowery dress like what Mrs. Jarvis wore in the photographs that Jarvis showed him. Her hair was a cloud of white, and her skin had spots. Tony imagined connecting the dots with a marker, then wondered if that would be rude. 

The man wore a sweater with sagging pockets, like he had lots of treasures in them. Tony’s pockets were just like that, full of pretty rocks or a shiny piece of metal or a length of wire or a scrap of paper or piece of candy. Maybe there was candy in that man’s pockets. He was bald and wore big, square glasses that made his eyes look like an owl’s. Tony finally decided. He liked them already. He slid off the bench and walked over to them, feeling nervous, but pretending to be brave and smiling that smile that made mama and Aunt Peggy go all soft and give him kisses.

“Is there candy in your pocket?” Tony asked the old man, pointing at the sagging pocket. The couple stared at him in surprise, and Tony faltered. “Please?” he added helpfully. Finally the old man laughed, and pulled out a peppermint. 

“It so happens that I do,” he said, handing the peppermint to Tony, who unwrapped it immediately. “And who are you?”

“I’m Tony,” Tony said, beaming with the peppermint tucked in his cheek. “I’m looking for my grandparents.”

The couple looked at each other and chuckled, then turned towards him.

“How do you do, Tony? My name is Delmar Johnson. This is my wife, Faye Johnson. Do your grandparents live here? What are their names?” they asked. 

“How do you do,” Tony said politely, straightening up. “My grandparents are dead. I’m looking for new ones.” 

The couple exchanged another look, more serious. 

“Young man, who are you here with?” Mr. Johnson asked.

“My Aunt Peggy. Her mama lives here. They’re very old.” He leaned forward conspiratorially. “She’s not really my aunt,” he whispered, as one does when sharing a grand secret. “She’s a hero, she fought in the war.” Tony paused a moment, thinking. “The second one,” he clarified. Mr. Johnson leaned forward, whispering as well. 

“I fought in the first one.” Tony was very impressed, and when Mrs. Johnson held out her hand with a smile, Tony took it.

“Why don’t you introduce us to your Aunt, Tony,” she said gently, and Tony proudly did so, holding both their hands as they walked back to where Aunt Peggy visited with her parents. Maybe this would be easier than he thought. Maybe he’d already found his grandparents.

He ate another three peppermints while Mr. and Mrs. Johnson talked to Aunt Peggy, listening closely and watching even more closely. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were friends with Aunt Peggy’s mama, and then they turned to Aunt Peggy.

“It seems your nephew is in search of a set of grandparents and cast his eye upon us,” Mr. Johnson said, his eyes dancing as he patted his pocket. “Or at least, my pocket.”

Aunt Peggy arched a brow, eyeing Tony, and suddenly he realized he might have made a mistake. 

“Tony? Is that what this visit was about?”

“I asked mama where my grandparents were, and she said I didn’t have any, so I have to pick out my own,” he said, proud of his solution. “She said having grandparents would be like a family of Jarvises to love me.”

Aunt Peggy sighed, kneeling down to pull Tony into a hug. 

“It was a very bright idea, darling, but that isn’t quite how grandparents work. I know it would be nice if-“ she started, and paused when Mrs. Johnson touched her shoulder. 

“Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad if we had a young visitor now and then?” she suggested lightly, and Tony looked up at them hopefully.

______________________________

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Johnson,

I turned seven last week. Mama and Jarvis came to see me, but not papa. I don’t think I like the school papa sent me to yet. It’s far away and no one comes to see me on the weekends. And we study all the time, but I like that. I had to sit in the corner for playing too loud with the robot mama brought me. It’s red! It’s my favorite color. I get to come home in 3 weeks for summer. Aunt Peggy says she will bring me to see you! I like our visits.

Yours truly, Tony

______________________________

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Johnson,

Thank you for the sweater and the box of peppermints for Christmas. I’m sorry I don’t get to come home for Christmas this year. I miss you. I don’t think mama and papa will be able to visit me. Papa says he has important business. He’s very important. Did you go to Florida like you wanted? I hope you had fun. I save all your letters. They make me smile.

Love, Tony

______________________________

Faye and Del-

I took my finals early and am flying home, I should be there by the time you get this. Jarvis had a stroke and is in the hospital. Mom says he should make a full recovery, but you know how I worry about stuff. Everything. I’ll come see you as soon as I can, if I can get Aunt Peg to drive me over. She’s been fighting over something with dad, and doesn’t come around as much. She says it’s just little work stuff, but I don’t think so. 

I’m going to be starting the accelerated program when I get back. They say it’s going to be a lot harder than the advanced classes, but I did those in my sleep, so I’m not worried. I think I decided to be an engineer, like dad. I bet he’ll be proud. Oh! I’m also working on a top-secret project, but it’s going to take a couple years to finish, I think. I’ll give you a hint: I just joined the robotics club at school. I’ll see you soon, please drop Jarvis a line if you have a chance. Love,

-Tony

______________________________

Faye and Del-

I enclosed another photo, this time of my new car! It’s a 1970 Mustang fastback, just like the one we looked at when we went to the car show, Del! The year I was born. Good year, huh? That’s me, and on the right is my best friend, Rhodey. Well, James Rhodes. We’re roommates, and he’s almost as smart as me (ha ha). He’s in aerospace engineering, so yeah, my roommate is a rocket scientist. We’re both graduating MIT the same time. I hope you can come to graduation, you’ll get to meet him. Now that I have the car, I can drive back any weekend. How about in two weeks? I can bring you more photos of my robot project. He’s almost finished! I still don’t have a name for him yet. I feel like such a dummy, you’d think after all this time working on him, I would have figured it out by now. Anyway, love you both, blah blah, I’ll stay out of trouble,

-Tone

______________________________

Tony pushed through the crowd, trying to see over mortarboards and flower arrangements, splitting into a grin when he finally spotted them on the lawn. A stooped man with a walker in a sharp linen suit, and a woman with white hair and a loud, flowery dress who seemed to grow shorter every time Tony saw her. He yanked Rhodey’s wrist.

“Come on, they’re over there! I don’t wanna make them walk,” Tony said as they wove their way through the crowd. When they reached the elderly couple, Tony positively radiated light, his smile was so big.

“Hi,” he said to Faye, kissing her cheek and pressing a small bouquet of flowers into her hand that he’d bought before the ceremony for this specific purpose, pleased at how she fussed over him and kissed his forehead. “Got any peppermints?” he asked Del with a grin, who chuckled and fished in his pocket, producing four mints. 

“You kids these days, always looking for a handout,” Del grumped with a smile on his face, and Tony kissed him on the cheek. 

“Yeah, yeah, you old people all sound the same,” Tony teased, handing out the mints, then proudly putting his arm around Rhodey’s shoulders. “I want you to meet my best friend. He’s the one I wrote you about. Faye, Del, this is James Rhodes. Rhodey, these are my grandparents.”

**Author's Note:**

> Timeline:
> 
> 1970: Tony was born  
> 1976: Tony meets Faye and Del, who are in their late 70's/early 80's. Peggy is in her early 60's.  
> 1977: Howard sends Tony to boarding school  
> 1986: Dum-E was brought online  
> 1987: Tony and Rhodey graduate MIT, Faye and Del are in their late 80's/early 90's


End file.
